Jcastro4089
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2010
- Messages
- 113
As I had posted in a different thread the previous owner of my 03 XB9S had too much oil in the bike. I decided to change the oil. Good thing I did because it was jet black! I drained the swing arm and then removed the oil filter. I filled the filter with 4oz and then put the remainder of the 2.5 quarts into the swing arm. So the total oil used is 2.5 quarts as the manual (XB9R PDF from here) instructs.
I fired up the bike to check for any oil leaks. It started on the first try (it's been taking 2 tries lately). After about 10 seconds it died. I tried to start it back up,, and it just turns over, no firing. I try a few more times, then finally give it some extra gas and it fires up. I keep the throttle to about 2k for 30 seconds or so, then let it idle a bit before taking it back to 2k for another 30 seconds. It's at this point I remember hearing that these ECMs "learn". I thought with my bike (Race ECM, race exhaust, K&N filter) running for who knows how long with too much oil, it probably adjusted itself to that crappy condition and that with the correct amount of oil it must need to learn its new setup.
I let the bike idle in the driveway for about 10-15 minutes and the fan kicked on (normal?). I then rode around for 20 minutes with the fan on the whole time. When I got back it was about 9:30pm and dark. I noticed that the header on the front cylinder was glowing red. Not like a lightbulb, but it was definitely producing light. The rear cylinder was not glowing. I turned the bike off, the fan continued to run and the header stopped glowing within 10 seconds or so, and shortly after it looked the same as the rear header, normal.
This bike is still new to me. ALL bikes are new to me. Is this normal, to see a red hot header in the evening? Is it normal for the fan to kick on when the bike is just idling in the driveway after 10-15 minutes? I just drove around in the neighborhood, probably never got above 40 mph, mostly stayed between 2k-3k.
After watching the header cool, I rolled the bike into the garage and checked the oil. I felt the previous owner must have been an idiot to have filled up the oil as much as I previously measured (completely covering the word "Overfilled" on the dipstick). Since I was very precise in the measurement of oil, I expected it to fall smack in the middle of the "Full" section on the dipstick. I pulled out the dipstick and the oil was up to the first E on the word "Overfilled". I wiped it down several times and saw the same thing. Thinking that I may not be measuring the oil properly, I set the dipstick into the swing arm without screwing it back in, and the oil was about 2 letter spaces below the word "Overfilled" but still above the "Full" marker. So my question now is, did I do something wrong with the amount of oil? Is this measurement expected? How do you guys measure your oil?
Sorry for the silly questions, but like I said, I'm new to bikes and I want spend MANY miles with bike.
I fired up the bike to check for any oil leaks. It started on the first try (it's been taking 2 tries lately). After about 10 seconds it died. I tried to start it back up,, and it just turns over, no firing. I try a few more times, then finally give it some extra gas and it fires up. I keep the throttle to about 2k for 30 seconds or so, then let it idle a bit before taking it back to 2k for another 30 seconds. It's at this point I remember hearing that these ECMs "learn". I thought with my bike (Race ECM, race exhaust, K&N filter) running for who knows how long with too much oil, it probably adjusted itself to that crappy condition and that with the correct amount of oil it must need to learn its new setup.
I let the bike idle in the driveway for about 10-15 minutes and the fan kicked on (normal?). I then rode around for 20 minutes with the fan on the whole time. When I got back it was about 9:30pm and dark. I noticed that the header on the front cylinder was glowing red. Not like a lightbulb, but it was definitely producing light. The rear cylinder was not glowing. I turned the bike off, the fan continued to run and the header stopped glowing within 10 seconds or so, and shortly after it looked the same as the rear header, normal.
This bike is still new to me. ALL bikes are new to me. Is this normal, to see a red hot header in the evening? Is it normal for the fan to kick on when the bike is just idling in the driveway after 10-15 minutes? I just drove around in the neighborhood, probably never got above 40 mph, mostly stayed between 2k-3k.
After watching the header cool, I rolled the bike into the garage and checked the oil. I felt the previous owner must have been an idiot to have filled up the oil as much as I previously measured (completely covering the word "Overfilled" on the dipstick). Since I was very precise in the measurement of oil, I expected it to fall smack in the middle of the "Full" section on the dipstick. I pulled out the dipstick and the oil was up to the first E on the word "Overfilled". I wiped it down several times and saw the same thing. Thinking that I may not be measuring the oil properly, I set the dipstick into the swing arm without screwing it back in, and the oil was about 2 letter spaces below the word "Overfilled" but still above the "Full" marker. So my question now is, did I do something wrong with the amount of oil? Is this measurement expected? How do you guys measure your oil?
Sorry for the silly questions, but like I said, I'm new to bikes and I want spend MANY miles with bike.
